The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Monday and vaulted over nine teams, including the last-place San Jose Sharks, in winning the opportunity to have the No. 1 pick.
The Islanders, who are in the midst of a front-office change, overcame having just a 3.5 per cent chance of winning the lottery. New York has the right to pick first for the fifth time in team history, and first since selecting John Tavares with the No. 1 pick in 2009.
Utah won the second lottery drawing and made the jump from 14th to fourth under the rules limiting teams from moving up no more than 10 spots in the draft order.
The Sharks will pick second after entering the day with the best odds, 18.5 per cent, to win the lottery and a 25.5 per cent chance of landing the No. 1 choice. San Jose, which finished last for a second consecutive year, was seeking to become the NHL鈥檚 first team to win the lottery and pick first in consecutive years.
The Chicago Blackhawks had the second-best chances to win the lottery and will pick third.
The Islanders' jump from 10th to first is the biggest involving a team winning the No. 1 selection. And it comes after the last-place team won the lottery to retain the first pick in four of the past five years.
The New York Rangers enjoyed the previous largest move up to No. 1 in 2020, when they were grouped among eight teams 鈥� ranked eighth to 15th 鈥� with the same odds to win the lottery after being eliminated in the COVID-altered play-in round of the expanded 24-team playoff format.
This year鈥檚 draft will be held in Los Angeles with the first round taking place on June 27, followed by the final six rounds the next day. Top prospects will convene for the weeklong pre-draft combine being held in Buffalo next month.
The prospect pool is not considered as deep at the top as last year鈥檚 class, when the Sharks selected , or next year鈥檚 group, with long regarded as the No. 1 candidate.
Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer is NHL Central Scouting鈥檚 top-ranked North American prospect followed by OHL Saginaw centre Michael Misa and Boston College centre James Hagens, the top-ranked U.S. born prospect.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Schaefer maintained his No. 1 position despite missing the final three months of the season after breaking his right collarbone representing Canada at the world junior championship in December.
鈥淪chaefer easily projects as a future All-Star in the NHL,鈥� central scouting VP Dan Marr said. 鈥淗e is the complete package playing a dynamic style that generates results and influences the outcome of games.鈥�
Schaefer has the potential of becoming only the fifth defenceman selected No. 1 since 2000, and first since Buffalo chose Owen Power in 2021. And he also has the chance of being the first OHL player to go No. 1 since Edmonton drafted Erie鈥檚 Connor McDavid in 2015.
The top-ranked international skaters are centre Anton Frondell and right wing Victor Eklund, who are teammates with Djurgarden of Sweden鈥檚 second division league. Frondell had 11 goals and 25 points in 25 games last season in posting the second-most points by a second-division player 17 or younger, behind only current Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander in 2013-14.
The lottery was held at the NHL Network studios in New Jersey, and conducted live for the first time in the event鈥檚 30-year history. Previously, the lottery was held shortly before the broadcast in front of a limited audience of sequestered observers, followed by the draft selections being revealed in reverse order.
Two draws were held, the first to determine the No. 1 pick followed by the No. 2 selection. Only the bottom 11 of the standings were eligible to land the first pick due to a rule restricting teams from moving up no more than 10 spots in the draft order. The remaining 14 draft spots will be determined following the playoffs.
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AP NHL:
John Wawrow, The Associated Press
